Random Image

You are here: Random Image > Words beginning with r > Random Image for rigaud

Possible definitions for rigaud

brigade
Military unit commanded by a brigadier general or a colonel and composed of two or more subordinate units, such as regiments or battalions. Two or more brigades make up a division.


Einaudi
Italian economist and politician. He taught at the University of Turin 1900-1943, and edited the Review of Economic History 1936-43. An opponent of the Fascists, he fled to Switzerland in 1943. He returned in 1945 and served as governor of the Bank of Italy 1945-48. As minister of the budget (1947), he successfully curbed inflation and stabilized the currency. He was the first president (1948-55) of the Republic of Italy.


Giraud
French army officer. In World War II he commanded forces in N France but was captured by the Germans in 1940. He escaped in 1942 and soon became commander in chief of the French forces in N. Africa. In 1943 he was copresident with C. de Gaulle of the French Committee of National Liberation, but retired in 1944 over differences with de Gaulle.


ligand
Atom or molecule attached to a central atom, usually of a transition element, in a coordination compound, or complex ion (see bonding). It is almost always the electron-pair donor (nucleophile) in a covalent bond. Common ligands include the neutral molecules water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), and carbon monoxide (CO) and the anions cyanide (CN-), chloride (Cl-), and hydroxide (OH-). Rarely, ligands are cations and electron-pair acceptors (electrophiles). Organic ligands include EDTA and nitrilotriacetic acid. Biological systems rely on ligands such as the porphyrin in hemoglobin and chlorophyll, and numerous cofactors are ligands. In chelates, the ligand attaches at more than one point, sharing more than one electron pair, and is called "bidentate" or "polydentate"--having two or many "teeth." The ligands in a complex may be the same or different.


Ribaut
French colonizer. He served in the French navy under G. de Coligny, who in 1562 sent him to found a French Huguenot colony in Florida. He landed at the mouth of the St. Johns River (Florida) then sailed north to establish Charlesfort (now in S. Carolina). He returned to France, then was sent back to Florida (1565) to reinforce the French colony of Ft. Caroline on the St. Johns River. Spanish claims to the region led to the attack and destruction of the colony by P. Mené ndez de Avilé s, who massacred the French, incl. Ribaut.


Riga
City (pop., 1996 est.: 827,000), capital of Latvia. It is situated on both banks of the Western Dvina River, above its mouth on the Gulf of Riga. It was founded as a trading post in 1201 on the site of an ancient Liv settlement and joined the Hanseatic League in 1282. In the Middle Ages it was dominated by the Teutonic Order, and it was fought over by Poles and Russians in the 16th cent. It was captured by Sweden in 1621 and granted self-government but was ceded to Russia in 1721. It was the capital ...

Top words beginning with R: recapitulationist, reccy, reaccommodated, redbugs, rateless, reedless, racetrack, rays, reunions, redeemability, reheeled, ranger, rufotestaceous, recontracts, relinking, rehabilitating, rapped, rarefy, ratsnake, relique

More words beginning with R.

Browse the alphabet: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z